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The Gentlemen's Alliance Cross
Madman Entertainment Viz Media | publisher_other = Tokyopop Kana Egmont | demographic = Shōjo | magazine = Ribon | magazine_en = | magazine_other = | published = | first = September 2004 | last = June 2008 | volumes = 11 | volume_list = }} is a shōjo manga series written and illustrated by Arina Tanemura. It premiered in the September 2004 issue of ''Ribon, running until the June 2008 issue. The 47 chapters were collected and published in 11 tankōbon volumes by Shueisha. The series is licensed for English language release in North America by Viz Media which published the first volume on March 6, 2007. The eleventh and final volume was released in English in April of 2010. Plot Haine Otomiya, a 15-year-old high school student at the elite private Imperial Academy (帝国学園 Teikoku Gakuen), was apparently sold to foster parents for fifty million yen. A one-time gang member(Yanki), Haine reformed when she met Shizumasa Tōgū, who told her to live life how she wanted to. She fell in love with Shizumasa and entered the Imperial Academy to try and win his love. Now, Shizumasa is the Koutei (皇帝, Kōtei, lit. emperor) of the school. Being the president of the student council and the only member of the gold class, he is the one who everyone looks up to. Through various circumstances Haine is tricked by Maora, a student council member, into becoming his bodyguard and joining the student council. However, Shizumasa claims not to know her and is unexpectedly cold towards her. Haine then discovered that Shizumasa has a twin brother named Takanari. Shizumasa was ill so he could not attend so, therefore, Takanari has to fill in as Shizumasa. Shizumasa won the game to see who would be the future emperor and heir when he was a child so Takanari was known as Shizumasa's "shadow". Characters Student Council ; *Rank: Platinum (previously a Bronze) : The main character of the story, Haine is the sixteen year-old bodyguard of the student council president. She is known for not being very bright, but she has a good heart. Her yanki name was "Seashore Cinderella". :Haine was born to the Kamiya family but was adopted into the Otomiya family when she was 10 years old for 50 million yen. At that time Haine believed it was because her father Kazuhito despised her for not being a good enough heir. It is later on revealed in Chapter 34 that her real father was Itsuki all along and that instead of selling her, all Kazuhito intended to do was to "return her to her real father." :Haine had a happy life with Itsuki until he married Ryouka and realized that now Kusame would become the heir to the Otomiya company. A ninth grader at that time, Haine turned into a , juvenile delinquent. It was at that time that she met Ushio and bonded with her because of their similar situations. But, after meeting with Shizumasa, Haine changed her ways. When she told the leader of her yankī group (Kasuga) that she was going to leave, Kasuga went into a rage and broke Haine's front two teeth, causing Haine to now wear false teeth. Once those false teeth comes off, it is said that Haine becomes a 'beast'. :Once she discovered that Takanari is posing as Shizumasa, she wrestles with her feelings for the both of them, eventually choosing Takanari after she found out that he was the one who wrote her favorite book.In order to save Takanari, she takes their test to find their rocks. She encounters Toya, who wants to kill her to end the bickering, and then kill himself. He shoots and accidenlty grazes her shoulder, and she jumps off the cliff and retrieves her stones. She stated that when the time comes, she will choose one of them. In the final chapter, Haine decides to marry both Takanari and Shizumasa, since Takanari does not have a family register and would be unable to marry her otherwise. However, Shizumasa chooses to go abroad to study, leaving Haine only a letter to thank her and hoping that she will live a carefree life. Several years later, she marries Takanari, and Shizumasa returns to see her; as the brothers fight over Haine, she runs away like Cinderella when everyone asks who she will choose. Later though, as seen in the extra episodes, Haine reaffirms that she is all Takanari's, and she is in fact being used as bait: Shizumasa truly wants to live with Takanari, as real brothers. ; *Rank: Gold :Takanari is the Emperor of the student council and Shizumasa's older twin brother. Because of Shizumasa's health problems, Takanari is posing as Shizumasa Koutei, though no one knows this except for the Tougu family and Touya (and, later, Haine in chapter 22 and in chapter 42 the rest of the student council). :In the beginning of the story, he is cold and distant but, once influenced by Haine, he becomes more kind and soft. He hated Haine at first and thought she was annoying. Takanari also accused Haine of having a false love for him, saying that she loves him simply because of his uncanny resemblance to her father, Kazuhito. Later he genuinely falls in love with her and wants her to become his. Even though Haine chose him over his brother in chapter 41 (after learning that Takanari is the real author of the picture book she loved as a child), in chapter 42 Haine is told by Shizumasa that he officially "died" when he was seven, after failing the test given to all twins of the Tougu family. Because of this he technically no longer exists and therefore is unable to marry Haine, shattering her dreams of becoming his bride. Also Shizumasa is still angry with Haine for choosing Takanari over him so he kidnaps him. At the end of Chapter 44, he asks Senri to take him to the hospital so he can give Shizumasa the bone marrow he needs to save his life. Though this is only after he refuses Haine's aid because he doesn't want to take away Shizumasa's last wanted happiness. In order to allow both brothers to decide for themselves what lives they wish to live, Haine confronts their grandfather, who agrees to abolish the kagemusha system if Haine manages to clear the trial that originally determined that Takanari would become kagemusha to Shizumasa. :A slight difference between Takanari and Shizumasa is that Takanari parts his hair on his left. :In chapter 47, Takanari is restored to his family's register; the revelation to the general public that he is actually still alive surprises many. Furthermore, he will become heir to the Kamiya family when he marries Haine. He eventually marries her, but he is still wary because of Shizumasa's early return, and the fact that all three of them will be living together in the Togu's house. In the last words of the story, Takanari states that he was glad that he fell in love with Haine. ; *Rank: Gold :The real Emperor, he is revered by almost everyone at Imperial Academy, helped by the fact that his family is very rich and famous. Shizumasa developed a love for Haine.He acts very cruel to Takanari because he wanted Takanari to hate him after what he did to Takanari in the trial test, but he's a real gentleman to Haine, because of his love for her. Due to his illness (often made worse by overexerting himself), his twin brother, Takanari, is currently posing as him. :A slight difference between Takanari and Shizumasa is that Shizumasa's hair is parted on his right. Tanemura made it easier for the readers to tell the differences between them by shading Takanari's hair and not Shizumasa's. Because of his illness he is MIA for a large portion of the series but returns at the end of Chapter 36. In Chapter 44, it is revealed that he has leukemia and needs Takanari's bone marrow to live but ordered Senri to never speak of it. This reveals that he was planning to die all along. :In chapter 47, Shizumasa decides to leave Haine and Takanari, to go study abroad, after he has cured from his illness. His decision comes from his desire to become a better heir to the Togu family and to no longer rely on others, like Haine and Takanari. He returns to the people he cares about most, saying he could not forget about Haine, and he intends to become a "married woman's killer", exclusively focusing on Haine, though she is just his bait so that he can live with Takanari as true brothers. ; *Rank: Silver :The secretary of the student council and Haine's best friend, who is very protective of her. She constantly tells Haine that Haine is all she needs in life to be happy and regards Haine as being more than just a friend, although Haine herself doesn't realize it at first. In volume 7 however, Haine discovers Ushio's feelings but tells Ushio that she is lying to herself. Angered, Ushio threatens Haine that if she is not willing to be hers, she would not regard Haine as even a friend anymore. Haine obeys her and breaks up with Takanari to devote herself to Ushio, and as she expected, Ushio realizes that in the end she was wrong. She realizes that all along the only reason why she was so attached to Haine was because she didn't think anyone else would accept and forgive her. When Senri-sensei does so, however, she apologizes to Haine for being so selfish. Later in Chapter 34, she confesses that she loves Senri. :She is known as "Lady Hydrangea" (紫陽花の君) by the boys at school. Unfortunately, she absolutely despises boys, but uses them both for her own gain and she dated with a lot of guys. She dislikes social climbers, especially students in the higher ranks. She joined the Student Council to be with Haine, by donating money to the school. She is also very knowledgeable of Japanese quotes and proverbs. :Her father is in the real estate business and her mother is an ikebana master; Ushio is actually the daughter of her father's mistress, but was placed into the main Amamiya family at the age of 10 because his legal wife was unable to have children vol.8 side story: "The Love Labyrinth". However, they do not love her so she does not speak with her father for the most part and lives in her own apartment. It is because of their similar circumstances that Ushio and Haine first became friends. When the student council invades the Togu residence, she confronts Senri, and confesses her feeling for him. She asks if he only watches Takanari and Shizumasa because they are Shoka's sons. She is told to go home, but she tells Senri that she loves him, and they kiss intensely. :In chapter 47, Senri finally confesses his feelings for Ushio, and they become a couple. Her first love was her uncle Reki, whom Senri is jealous of. In a side story, at her uncle's engagement party, Senri arrives and shows the family pictures of Reki with other women. It may be implied that Akatsuki in the side story Nocturne. ; *Rank: Silver :The treasurer and brains of the Student Council. Maora is actually a male, his real name being Yoshitaka Ichinomiya, and is childhood friends with Maguri. His parents are fashion designers and Maora usually dresses as a girl. The name Maora was originally a catch phrase he said a lot as a child. It eventually spread among his friends, and that's why most people only know him as "Maora", and not "Yoshitaka". He has two pets, a "mini-sheep" named Okori-makuri, who is the mascot of the series, as well as a cat, named Paru. :Maora is secretly the Mailman of the Imperial Academy. As the Mailman, he bonds with Haine and falls in love with her. When his identity was revealed, he tells Haine he loves her and challenges "Shizumasa" (Takanari) for the Koutei title, just so he can make Haine his love. Haine becomes upset, not only because Maora is trying to take her away from Takanari, but also because Maora is only trying to use Haine as a substitute for Maguri, since they are both cheerful and can be rather stupid. Maora believed that he was too "weak" for Maguri, but after a confrontation from Haine, Maora realizes his love for Maguri and confesses to him. ; *Rank: Silver :The vice president of the Student Council. Maguri is Takanari's best friend, even giving him the nickname of Shi-zun (initially he didn't know that Takanari wasn't Shizumasa and later nicknamed him Takataka when he knew). His family are yakuza members, but even then he has a soft side. His brother is Yūkimitsu, who was the former Emperor before Shizumasa. He is also the only one of the student council members to not kiss Haine. :At the beginning of the series, he is the secret "lover" of Takanari, but Haine discovers it is just a rumor intentionally spread so that girls would stay away from Takanari. When Haine becomes Takanari's girlfriend, however, Haine realizes that Maguri's feelings for Takanari are real. Maguri graciously gives up and pursues the Mailman, only to find out that he is really Maora. Maora gets angry at him for being so weak, since when they were younger, they were laughed at by their parents for saying they wanted to marry one another. Maguri realizes that he too loves Maora and promises that he will become stronger for Maora's sake. :Arina Tanemura imagines J-Drama actor, Mokomichi Hayami as an ideal, cool, and tall Maguri. Their hair texture is about the same. During the invasion, he ties fireworks to his waist in order to scare the guards. Otomiyas ; *Rank: Formerly Gold :The former Emperor of the student council and secret boyfriend of the Bronze, Maika. Later, Haine finds out that he is and always has been her real father, and that Kazuhito Kamiya was not. Haine is the result of Maika and Itsuki, but was born after Maika and Kazuhito were married. Though it is given that because Itsuki was incapable of having children and as a result, Kazuhito offered to adopt away Haine to become the Otomiya heir, Kazuhito discloses to Maika that the actual reason behind his adoption was that he was returning Haine to her "real" father. Itsuki remains unaware that Haine is his biological daughter, but later finds out. After adopting Haine, he later falls in love with and marries Ryouka and adopts Ryouka's son Kusame. ; *Rank: Formerly Bronze :Ryouka is Itsuki's wife, and claims she fell in love with him at first sight (when actually, she liked him when they were still in school). Before her marriage to Itsuki, Ryouka had already been married and had a son, Kusame, though her first husband is now deceased. She is a cheerful woman who likes to tease both her son and Haine, whom she cares for like her own daughter. During high school, Ryouka had observed Maika and Itsuki and knew that they were "close friends". She also said that she loved Maika when Haine asked her if she ever liked a girl. ; *Rank: Silver *Birthday: May 1; Blood Type : AB :Haine's stepbrother and Itsuki's stepson, Kusame is the heir to the Otomiya family. Secretly, he fell in love with Haine at first sight and refuses to call her onee-chan ("big sister") for that reason. Kusame is a silver, honor student and vice president of Imperial Academy Junior section's Student Council. He became vice president by earning points, not with money. He works in the Junior Student Council with Komaki and is forced to become her boyfriend because of a public confession. However, in a special not seen in the regular chapters of the manga, Kusame realizes that he likes Komaki and they become a real couple. After accepting Komaki's feelings for him, Kusame ends up competing with Tachibana for Haine's affection as their older sister. Kamiyas ; *Rank: Gold (although he was Silver before) *Birthday: December 21; Blood type: A :Kazuhito is married to Maika, Haine's mother. Kazuhito was originally the Vice Chairman of the Student Council when he was at the Imperial Academy while Itsuki was the Emperor. When Kazuhito first saw Maika, she was practicing ballet under a cherry blossom tree when she kicked out her leg and accidentally landed on him. He fell in love with her and believed that she loved him as well, but after seeing her and Itsuki kissing, he lost control and stole Itsuki's position through having a new election(by cheating too). He won the election by the students' "lack of confidence" in Itsuki and became the new Emperor. Immediately, he formed the rank of "Platinum" and granted the title to Maika, who became the first Platinum ever, announcing her as his girlfriend and almost forcefully binding her to him. Although he seems cold, he genuinely loves Maika and it is very evident in the later chapters that he cares deeply for her. :He was believed to be Haine's father until it was revealed in the end of Chapter 35 that Itsuki is Haine's biological father. As a result, it is believed that Kazuhito does not care for Haine and has known for some time that she was not his biological daughter; his reasoning for "selling" Haine to Itsuki Otomiya had not only been for the money he needed, but also to return her to her "real father". In Chapter 37, however, it was revealed through a letter Kazuhito wrote to the Principal of the Imperial Academy that he does very much care about Haine and her well being, despite how coldly he acts toward her. It is also revealed that he gave her to Itsuki because she reminded him too much of Maika and he did not want Haine to be unhappy like Maika; therefore he thought selling her to Itsuki would make her free of the rules in the Kamiya family. He and Maika are expecting a fourth child, a girl. ; *Rank: Platinum (was a Bronze before) :Maika is married to Kazuhito and mother to Haine, Komaki, and Tachibana. Originally Maika Rikyuu (離宮 舞加, Rikyū Maika), a Bronze and the secret girlfriend of Itsuki Otomiya, she became friends with Kazuhito, who fell in love with her. After Kazuhito won the Emperor election, she was forced to become his girlfriend. Her family pushed her to marry Kazuhito as her father was ill and their company would suffer without the money they would receive from her marriage. Itsuki encouraged her to marry Kazuhito because it would benefit her family, though he went through pain in order to do so. She pledges that though Kazuhito may have her through marriage, he would never have her heart. However, she finds herself unable to leave Kazuhito after learning how lonely he has always been and that she is an extremely important person to him. :When Haine is adopted away to Itsuki, Kazuhito reveals that he had been aware that Haine was actually Itsuki's daughter, a fact that Maika believed she had successfully concealed from everyone since Haine's birth. Something inside Maika breaks and she mentally loses herself, eventually becoming ill and hidden from the world. In Chapter 38, she regains her memories and reunites with Haine at the hospital in Chapter 39. She also confesses her love to Kazuhito after reconciling her own feelings for Itsuki and realizing that she had fallen in love with Kazuhito. In the final chapter, it is revealed that she and Kazuhito are expecting their fourth child, who will be another girl. ; *Rank: Gold (was Silver before) *Birthday: June 12; Blood type: A :Komaki is Haine's biological little sister from the Kamiya family. She posed as Takanari ("Shizumasa") Tōgū's fiancée to protect Haine from being sent back to their father. Though proper and lady-like, she tends to have her moments of outburst, proving that she is indeed Haine's sister. She loves her sister, Haine, a great deal and refers to her as onee-sama ("older sister"), despite knowing that Haine is only her half-sister. Komaki is extremely devoted to Haine, becoming upset if others (like Kusame and Tachibana) try to spend more time with her than Komaki does. Komaki is the President of the Imperial Academy's middle school Student Council. She is also very stubborn and, on her first date with Kusame, kissed him. It is implied that Mizuki, the secretary of the student council was in love with her because he voted for her in the popularity gag and he was going to confess to her during her party. Kusame is very possessive over her. ; *Rank: Silver *Birthday: October 18; Blood Type: A :Tachibana is Haine's biological little brother. Upon seeing Haine, he mistakes her as their mother because they are alike in appearance. He was rude to her until he finds out Haine is his older sister. Later, he is very kind to Haine and has that "little boy" nature around her. Kusame was jealous of him because he spent so much time near Haine. When he was born, it was expected that he would become the next heir of the Kamiya family as its only male heir. However, in the final chapter, it is revealed that Takanari, by marrying the Kamiya family's eldest daughter, Haine, would become Kazuhito's successor. He also is not speaking to Haine due to jealousy that he wanted to make her happy. Togu household ; :Shouka is the biological mother of Shizumasa and Takanari. She was also a kagemusha, or shadow, for her elder twin sister, Kyouka. Her attendant was Senri, and, as the two got older, they fell in love with one another. After Shouka gave birth to Takanari and Shizumasa, she and Senri eloped. However, Shouka quickly sickened because of her frail body and died, leading Senri to return to the Togu family. He removes his glasses in the final volume with Ushio at the place where she died. ; :Kasuga is, surprisingly, Takanari and Shizumasa's cousin. She is a member of Haine's old gang (Dark Mermaid), and she admitted that she was the most disappointed when Haine left. Called 'Top 2', they had fought well together. When Haine announced that she was quitting, Kasuga knocked out her teeth. She had kept them with her, and later handed them over to Takanari and Shizumasa. She gives up her yanki lifestyle to pursue Kiriaki. ; :Shizumasa and Takanari's mother, the older identical twin sister of their biological mother, Shouka. Kyouka is apparently away on business on a frequent basis, so neither Takanari or Shizumasa see her often. Compared to Shouka, Kyouka's health has been stable, which was why Shouka became Kyouka's shadow. When Haine meets her, Kyouka helps Haine find and save Takanari, who had been imprisoned as Shouka had, as Kyouka believes she does not have the power to approach her father or stop Shizumasa from continuing the kagemusha system. ; :Takanari's servant and one of his best friends. Takanari once said that Touya is "the only person who understands me." He has a calm nature, and cares much about Takanari's happiness. He is very polite, gets nervous easily, and is friends with Riiko. He was adopted by the Togu family, therefore he serves them. He wants Haine and Takanari to be together. Touya gave Shizumasa Takanari's location in order to receive information about his parents whereabouts. His parents abandoned him as a child, and it has been revealed that one of his intentions is to get revenge on them. :Touya later on "betrays" Takanari so he can have his revenge on his parents, and also out of fear that Takanari might "replace" him with Haine in his heart. However, in chapter 44, it is revealed that Takanari sent him to spy on Shizumasa. When Haine decides to take upon Takanari and Shizumasa's grandfather's challenge, Touya interrupts her quest by threatening to kill her; while the twins have reconciled, Touya believes that as long as Haine exists, the twins will always fight. Haine simply understands that Touya is only afraid of happiness because it might betray him, so she promises him a happy ending; she even forgives him for accidentally shooting her. :At the end of the series, Touya accidentally catches Haine's wedding bouquet and gives it to Riiko. He reveals that he does love her back and apologizes for hurting her. ; *Birthday: April 12; Blood type: A :Caretaker of the real Shizumasa. At the end of the series, Kasuga is revealed to have a crush on him and has given up her yanki ways in order to pursue him, though her feelings are unrequited. ; :The school physician, who loves cute high school girls. Apparently, he is a master of the martial arts as he was able to make Haine faint when she came to visit Shizumasa. He is a butler of the Tōgū family and is especially interested in Ushio, which in later chapters he says is because she looks exactly like Shouka. Senri had once eloped with Shouka, Takanari and Shizumasa's mother, but when Shouka died, he came back to the Togu family pledging his loyalty, and to repent for the elopement. When Ushio falls in love with him, she demands that Senri remove his glasses, which he strongly refuses. When the two meet during the invasion, he tells her that he was only kind because she resembled Shoka, and tells her to leave. She tells him that she loves him, and the two intensely kiss. :In the final chapter, he finally takes off his glasses in front of Ushio, and proclaiming his love for her. It is also revealed, that as part of a dying wish from Shouka, she told Senri that if he ever falls in love with another, he is to come back to the place where she died, and take them off in front of her. In a side story, he has a photo album of Ushio and he is jealous of her uncle and proves to her family that he cheats on women. School staff ; *Rank: Silver (being Maora) :The Mailman of Hope and Love at Imperial Academy; he works hard at his job, and appears to be interested in Haine. After Maguri accepts Shizumasa (Takanari) and Haine's relationship, he decides to pursue the Mailman, unaware that the Mailman is actually Maora. The Mailman has a cat with him in some parts of the manga. ; :The guard at Imperial Academy, and a friend of Haine and the Mailman. Surprisingly, he is also the principal of the high school. He is known as the Warden in Viz's English adaption of the manga. Media Manga Written and illustrated by Arina Tanemura, The Gentlemen's Alliance Cross premiered in the September 2004 issue of Ribon where it ran for 47 chapters until its conclusion in the June 2008 issue. The individual chapters were collected and published in 11 tankōbon volumes by Shueisha. The series is licensed for English language release in North America by Viz Media which published the first volume on March 6, 2007; nine volumes have been released as of March 2009. It is licensed in France by Kana. Artbook In June 2008, Shueisha published an artbook for the series entitled . In 2009, Viz Media acquired the license for its English language release, and subsequently published the book in November 2009. Drama CD In 2004, Shueisha made a drama CD adaptation of the first chapter of Shinshi Doumei Cross as a Ribon zenin. The cast is as follows: * Haine Otomiya: Hōko Kuwashima * Shizumasa Tōgū: Junichi Suwabe * Ushio Amamiya: Yui Horie * Maora Ichinomiya: Arina Tanemura * Maguri Tsujimiya: Kenji Nojima * Senri Narimiya: Tomohiro Tsuboi * Strahl Tachimiya the Third: Noriaki Sugiyama * Mailman-san: Arina Tanemura Reception Several volumes of The Gentlemen's Alliance Cross made the Tohan and Oricon manga charts in Japan: volume nine placed 7th in the week January 15–21, the regular edition of volume 10 was tenth in the week of May 13–19, and both the regular and special editions of volume 11 were on the list for November 11–17, in 4th place and 27th place respectively (selling 78,895 copies combined). The regular edition of volume 11 stayed on the charts for the next week (November 18–25), but went from 4th to 20th place. According to Publishers Weekly, Viz Media's English release was the seventh best selling comic in April 2007 and the third volume was the eighth bestseller in October 2007. The series ranked 8th in BookScan's list of top 20 American properties in the third quarter of 2008 and was one of the top 50 manga sellers in the time period from the start of May through the middle of July. The fourth volume of the series sold 1075 copies in December 2007, making it the 96th best-selling graphic novel for that month. Four other volumes each made the top 20 list of graphic novels during the month of release: volume 5 ranked sixth in March 2008, volume 6 ranked number 9 in June 2008, volume 7 ranked 8 in September 2008, and volume 8 was ranked 18th in December 2008. Volume 10 debuted at number 9 on the New York Times Manga Best Seller List for the week of October 18–24, a week before its official release date of November 3. The final volume of the series debuted at number 4 on the New York Times Manga Best Seller list for the week of April 4–10. The Gentlemen's Alliance Cross was ranked 16th in a list of the top 25 Manga Properties of 2008 by ICv2. The series was ranked as the 6th top shōjo property, as well as the 18th over-all manga property, in America for the first quarter of 2009. References External links * [http://viz.com/products/products.php?series_id=670 Official Viz The Gentlemen's Alliance Cross website] * [http://shojobeat.com/manga/gma/ Official Shojo Beat The Gentlemen's Alliance Cross website] * Category:Manga distributed by Madman Entertainment Category:Shōjo manga Category:manga of 2004 Category:Romance anime and manga Category:Viz Media manga de:Shinshi Doumei Cross es:The Gentlemen Alliance Cross fr:The Gentlemen's Alliance Cross hu:Shinshi Doumei Cross ja:紳士同盟† fi:The Gentleman's Alliance Cross tl:The Gentlemen's Alliance th:เดอะ เจนเทลเมน อัลลิแอนซ์ ครอส zh:紳士同盟